Safe and economical transportation and storage of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons requires the proper management of compressors associated with petroleum well production sites, processing facilities and transportation lines. For example, liquid hydrocarbon storage tanks typically have an internal vapor pressure of about 1.72 KPa (0.25 psig); however, failure to properly control the pressure in the tanks or the vapor recovery towers associated with liquid hydrocarbon storage tanks can result in tank failure and collapse of the structure. In the production unit or heater treater often associated with a natural gas well, pressure is typically maintained at about 172.4 KPa to 206.8 KPa (25 to 30 psig). Excessively low pressures within these units can render the liquid transfer and dumping systems inoperable.
To accommodate the wide range of operating conditions within the production, processing and transportation systems, the industry utilizes several individually controlled compressors with each compressor being associated with its own programmable logic controller or PLC. The plurality of compressors increase operating costs at wells sites and processing facilities. Thus, the ability to reduce the number of compressors required to manage hydrocarbon processing and production will decrease costs and reduce the footprint associated with production facilities.